Close-knit Class of 2013 Urged to Advance Health, Persevere, Remain Grateful
A review of the public’s health in 2013 finds that there is much to be uneasy about. Obesity is rampant, diabetes is increasing and many people live without access to health care. Unhealthy options are everywhere in modern society and they are usually inexpensive, convenient and readily accessible.
But as more than 100 freshly minted Yale School of Public Health students received their diplomas Monday and prepare to launch careers dedicated to lessening disease burdens and health disparities, there was hopefulness.
Dean Paul D. Cleary noted that the graduates could have pursued careers that would likely have offered far more money, but instead they selected a profession that directly helps all people on a very essential level.
“I’ve developed a real and tremendous sense of optimism for our future,” Cleary told the graduating class and hundreds of their families and friends who traveled from around the world to witness the ceremony inside Yale’s historic and scenic Battell Chapel.
The graduating M.P.H., Ph.D. and M.Sc. students will join the ranks of more than 4,000 School of Public Health alumni who work and live in more than 70 countries around the world.
Student speaker Jasmine Carver reflected on the two-year journey that she and her School of Public Health classmates have completing, and what lies ahead.
The graduating class bonded during the course of a public health education that included more than 1,000 hours of classroom instruction, the writing of many papers, numerous tests, lengthy books, a challenging 10-week summer internship in locations around the world (Carver’s was in Haiti), public health seminars and informal encounters where they learned from one other. The graduates, she said, helped each other through a challenging program, assisted by family, partners and faculty.
And now, with their diplomas in hand, life will quickly become very different for the members of the graduating class. Some will pursue research, others will teach and still others will become clinicians or advocates.
“We will take part in the battles against malaria, asthma and obesity,” she said.
But no matter where the graduates end up, Carver offered some resolutions for the class as they disperse and find their careers in public health. She said that she hopes the graduates remain grateful for what they have; that they continue to appreciate what they experienced and learned at Yale; that they stay connected to one another; and that they make contributions that advance public health.
“I know as a group we are going to do some good,” she said. “We should be so excited to enter this next phase.”
Mayur Desai, an associate professor at YSPH and the 2013 Teacher of the Year, noted how the graduates came to Yale from all around the world to study public health. Once at Yale, they fanned out around the globe to put their education to use during their summer internships. The class was also active in efforts closer to school, improving health in New Haven and raising money for worthwhile causes.
“This is a class that is too modest to boast about it accomplishments and activities,” Desai said. “They have made us all proud and will continue to do so in the future.”
The Commencement’s keynote speaker, Nirav Shah, commissioner of health in New York and a 1998 graduate of Yale’s M.P.H. program, told the gathering that public health has a lot of the answers to what ails health and health care today. The graduating class is uniquely positioned to address the critical health issues of our time.
Their top challenge will be advancing prevention. As much as 40 percent of early deaths in the United States are avoidable and public health is all about addressing this missed opportunity.
Shah also spoke of social determinants of health. A person’s zip code, he said, has a greater affect on health than their genetic code. Factors such as social environment, education and income are directly tied to one’s well being.
Calling it Public Health 3.0, or the next phase of public health, this challenge will need public health professionals, but also other members of the community such as zoning board officials, architects, industrialists and politicians. Overcoming the social determinants of health will require people from many disciplines to act in concert for the common good.
“We must expand the definition of health beyond the four walls of the hospital,” he said.
Shah also shared with the graduated the trajectory of his career. While he now oversees one of the largest public health departments in the country, there were frequent failures along the way, he said.
One paper that he authored, for instance, was rejected for publication six times before it was accepted. His first grant application took him three months to write and was not even reviewed. A brief e-mail rejection, he noted, even spelled his name wrong.
“My failures taught me perseverance,” Shah said. “I’m sharing this story because I believe that you, too, will find ways to persevere in your careers.”
Dean Cleary recognized four students for outstanding work on their M.P.H. theses: Jasmine Carver, Casey Finch, Harry Jin and Laura Skrip. Also recognized Monday were Osama Zayyad, who received the Wilbur G. Downs, M.D., M.P.H. Outstanding Thesis Prize in International Health; Lily Roh, who received the Henry J. (Sam) Chauncey Jr. Inspiration Award; and Amelia Reese Masterson, who received the Lowell Levin Award for Excellence in Global Health.
“I have seen a lot of extraordinary classes, but this one is really special,” said Anne F. Pistell, associate dean for student affairs. “All of us at 47 [College Street] really loved having you here.”